Confession
by Black Gargie
Summary: The title explains it a little: Helga and Arnold's gang had a bet. Helga got into an accident and is dying. How would Arnold feel?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I may not know much about the characters in Hey Arnold's episodes, but I sure am a great fan and anticipator of the romance between Arnold and Helga! So let's write away, shall we?

Disclaimer: Nickelodeon owns Hey Arnold. Not me.

                                                            CONFESSION

            The bell of P. S. 118 rang and everyone was excited to leave the school compound. Arnold, together with his usual gang of friends Gerald, Stinky, Sid and Harold walked casually out of the building.

            "So, guys, what are you going to do later in the evening?" Arnold asked.

            "I'm pretty free for the entire evening. I'm not sure what to do," Stinky replied, scratching his long nose.

            "I actually have some homework to do, but I think I'll pass for tonight," Sid said.

            "I heard that the new funfair is gonna put in their final touches," Gerald said in excitement.

            "You mean that new Puke Your Guts Out fair?!" Harold exclaimed. "I heard that their rides are like the coolest rides ever! They have those swirling, twirling roller coasters and huge bumper cars and fast spinning merry-go-round and…"

            "We get the drift, Harold! Don't spoil the surprise!" Sid groaned, shoving the big guy's shoulder.

            "I guess that's where they get the name of their funfair," Stinky commented, going green over all the rides that could turn his guts upside-down.

            "When are they going to officially open it?" Arnold asked, interested. His interest was short-lived.

            "Out of my way, football head!" Needless to say, it was our famous Bully of the Century Helga Pataki, pushing her way through the boys with Phoebe following behind her.

            "You can at least say 'Excuse me'," Arnold grumbled irritably at Helga who not only didn't show as much as an inkling of kindness but also making her way to increase her Hall of Un-fame.  

            "Whatever, you dork," Helga snorted. "Oh, and if you losers are thinking of going to that new Puke Your Guts Out fun \fair, I hope you have a strong stomach. Because _I _am going to that fun fair next week on the opening and beat you guys on all the rides they have!"

            "You are going to the funfair?" Stinky bulge his eyes in disbelief.

            "Of course I am, you knuckle head! Where do you think I'm going on a grand opening of the world's famous gut-wrenching funfair?" Helga always had to scowl at everyone, like it was a permanent scar or something.

            "To be clearly correct, the funfair is not exactly new," the intellectual Phoebe said with her tiny squeaky voice while adjusting her glasses. "They have been around for a very long time, and this is actually their 6th branch to be opened next week."

            "The funfair is opening up next week? That soon?" Gerald seemed surprised.

            "In case you haven't notice, pinhead," Helga snorted and took out a flyer from her backpack and shoved it in front of Gerald's face, "the funfair has practically been making an extra spectacle of itself. Besides, the sooner the better."

            "I'm not surprised if you're going to the funfair too, Helga," Harold voiced out. "But I don't think you yourself have the guts strong enough to handle those rides. Why do you think they named it 'Puke Your Guts Out'?"

            "Maybe it's reserved for you losers," Helga was good at shooting back cynical answers at her victims. "That is if you really are losers."

            "No, we're not!" Stinky protested.

            "Yeah! Just because you're sometimes brave doesn't mean we're not!" Sid thumped his chest with a hand, emphasizing his point.

            "Hah! I bet you wouldn't even dare to set foot on a bumper car ride!" Helga scoffed.

            "No way! I can sit perfectly firm on a bumper car ride and knock your socks off!" Sid bit back.

            "Yeah, right. In your dreams, Sid!"

            "Oh, yeah? Well, I bet you can't even survive the Ferris Wheel!" Gerald had his hands on his hips, obviously frustrated.

            "Oh? Is that a challenge?" Helga asked, pounding her fists, eager for a bit of bet.

            "Yeah! We dare you to take all the rides and not even barf out a single crumb!"

            "I can take all the rides over and over again and not even barf at all!"

            Their squabbles were getting pretty heated up. Arnold, the peacemaker he was, stepped in between Helga and the boys and said, "Look, betting like this is going nowhere. I suggest that we'll meet at the funfair next week first thing after school and we'll try out all the rides. First person to barf will have to spend a whole week doing chores for the last one standing. How's that?"

            "Hmm, a personal slave for a week, eh?" Helga tapped her chin and considered for a while. She grinned an evil grin and said, "Make it two weeks."

            "Two weeks?!" the boys exclaimed.

            "Why? You're chickening out so soon?" Helga gave the boys a sly look. Phoebe egged in by giggling and imitated a chicken cluck. Hanging out with Helga sure did some attitude change on her.

            "Of course not!" Gerald exclaimed. "We're in!"

            "Yeah! Yeah, we're in!" the other boys chimed in one by one.

            "Then I guess that settles it," Arnold said with his hands on his waist. "We'll meet at the funfair first thing after school."

            "Deal!" the boys said in unison.

            "Bring it on, football head," Helga gave Arnold a stink look before leaving towards home with Phoebe.

            "She's getting worse and tougher than I thought," Gerald complained as soon as she was out of earshot. "Man, no one in this neighbourhood will ever get peace with her around."

            "Yeah…" Arnold agreed, his voice trailing away. He stared at Helga who was slowly disappearing, with her two pony-tailed blonde hair, pink dress and big pink bow. Despite the 'pinkish' appearance Helga portrayed on herself, her attitude and her heart was as cold as an icy blue. It totally contradicted the colour of her appearance. With that kind of personality, how would she ever understand that he…

            Arnold wiped that thought away when his gang called him to go to the nearest drink house with them to grab some fruit smoothies.

                                                                        *

            Helga lay on her bed munching potato chips as her midnight snack. The rest of the Pataki family members were pretty much sound asleep, too drowned in their own slumber lands to bother about Helga being all hopelessly romantic and poetic again.  

            "Oh, Arnold. You are the love of my life. You are the sky and I am the clouds among you. You are the bright moon that shines the dark night and I am the stars that shine along with you. You have given life to this soulless heart of mine and given me hope that love still exists in me. You are my soul. You are my life.

            "Oh, Arnold, my dear, dear sweet Arnold. Fate has brought us together to meet at the funfair where we can share rides—exciting, fun-filled rides—together and share the love that has been embedded deep inside my heart. But alas, fate has also played a terrible joke on us by forcing us to embark on such a bet that my pride cannot deny. I will show you, Arnold my love, I will show you that I will not fall and I will not regurgitate myself. I will not make a fool of myself in front of you and your friends and I will amaze you at how strong I can be. I will make you dazzle and…"

            "Helga! Do you know what time it is? Go to sleep already!" Obviously Helga's poetic side had caught the irritable ear of her father. Helga grumbled in annoyance at his intrusion. 

            "Alright, _Bob_! You go to sleep yourself!" Helga yelled back before throwing the bag of potato chips under her bed. She pulled the blanket over her and turned off the lights before whispering, "Goodnight, my love."

A/N: Me, oh my. Gee, I guess that really is the kind of kid who is TOTALLY love sick about someone! Reviews plz! 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: At first I wanted to make it a whole single story but I kinda elaborated it too long, so I'm breaking them into pieces.

Disclaimer: Nickelodeon owns Hey Arnold. Not me.

                                                            CONFESSION 

            Everyone gathered around at Puke Your Guts Out Funfair as soon as school ended. Everyone was there, including Rhonda, Brainy, Eugene and Lila. In fact, almost the whole class was there to see the duel between Helga and the boys.

            "Ready to barf out your lunch, losers?" Helga broke the ice, folding her arms across her chest proudly.

            "Oh yeah? We'll see who barfs first!" Harold pointed an accusing finger at Helga. "Come on, guys! Let's show her what a real ride pro is!"

            Everyone dashed into the funfair and bought their tickets. First they tried a kinder one, namely the Ferris Wheel. It was a psych as no one had a sick stomach. But some did experience a few fears of heights. Then it was the bumper cars, the twisting and turning Coffee Cups and the Sin Twister roller coasters. The roller coaster really lived up to its name: people who rode it were soon beginning to yell and confess their terrible sins they have done in the past. As the ride went on, more people were going down. The first person to go down was Sid, puking out half-digested baloney sandwich and smoothies. Then it was Gerald's oatmeal and cheese, Stinky's cafeteria set lunch and Harold's eggs and bacon and set lunch and orange juice and…(ugh) the list goes on of his food. So far, only Helga, Arnold, Eugene and Phoebe (who tagged along in the last minute) are the only ones standing.

            "Gee, Helga, I must admit," Arnold said, licking a cotton candy after all the excitement. "I'm impressed. You didn't even turn green at all the rides. And you've taken those rides like a number of times."

            "You should be impressed!" Helga, who had taken 10 bumper car rides, 5 Ferris Wheel rides, 6 Sin Twister roller coaster rides, 4 airplane merry-go-rounds and 7 swing twister rides, replied proudly. "I told you I could handle all this without a single barf."

            Arnold couldn't help looking at Helga. She had that smug on her face that made her look like 'I'm the Queen of the World' type of attitude. As he continued looking, he noticed that under her smug and outspoken blue eyes and headstrong blonde hair, lies something that was far more beautiful than he had ever imagined. It was like looking at her for the first time even though they had known each other since pre-school.

            'She looked so pretty even with that smug…' Arnold thought. Helga noticed him staring at her and scowled.

            "What are you looking at, football head? Checking if I had a zit?"

            "No. Nothing. Sorry," Arnold turned away, his imagination broke away like a burst bubble.  

            "So what's your secret, Helga? I mean, how are you able to take so many rides and still don't get sick?" Eugene asked. "I almost puked just by taking one ride on that swing twister thingy."

            "That, my poor inexperienced friend, is an art. And an artist doesn't reveal his/her arts to others."

            "Come on, Helga," Phoebe was also curious. "You can tell us. I mean it is logically speaking that there is no way someone is able to handle so many rides in a row and not regurgitate himself. We won't tell anyone else."

            "Are you kidding me? And ruin the beauty of my craftsmanship and art of funfair rides? No way!!"

            "Please, pretty please!" Phoebe begged. "I always get humiliated when I took funfair rides when I was a kid. Please tell us! Please!"

            "Yeah, Helga. I often experience the same thing. We won't tell anyone, honest!" Eugene was in the verge of going down on his knees and beg. 

            Helga looked at the eager eyes on Eugene and Phoebe and turned to Arnold. Arnold shrugged and smiled, saying, "Well, it wouldn't hurt telling only us. The others are still in the bathroom trying to get rid of that nasty feeling in their guts."

            Helga considered a little and sighed, saying, "Alright, since you losers wanna know so much about it, I guess I can let you in a little. My secret is…"

            Helga's secret was cut short by a loud scream from afar. They all spun round to see something incoming fast towards them. It was so fast, they were unable to think straight for a moment there. Helga noticed immediately that the incoming thing was huge and bulky and the angle of it was more towards Arnold. Arnold was in danger, she realized. Never mind if it's gonna crush the other guys, but it was heading towards Arnold! I have to save him! I have to save my love!

            Within that split second, Helga pushed Arnold a few yards away from her and aimed her feet at Phoebe and Eugene who was behind her, kicking them far enough from the incoming object. When she herself was about to take off, she felt a sudden impact on her. She felt like she was being hit by a bullet train. She could even feel herself flying away into the horizon like a feather blown by the wind. She had no time for pain and no time for answers to all the happenings that was going on in her body. All she knew that she was going down—fast. She could still feel the heaviness on her as she dropped onto the solid ground like a bullet.

            It was happening so fast, she wasn't sure this is all a dream…

A/N: Oh man, this is a nightmare! What'll they do? What'll they do?! *Rants and raves like Courage the Cowardly Dog* Reviews plz!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Let's get on without the story and cut the suspense!

Disclaimer: Nickelodeon owns Hey Arnold. Not me.

                                                            CONFESSION 

           Arnold groaned as he picked himself up. He heard many people exclaiming in horror and their faces seemed terrified. He nodded when an old man tried to stand him up and asked if he was OK while checking his dusty body. Besides a few bruises and some cuts from the fall he had, he was pretty much a-OK. 'What had happened?' he thought. 'What exactly just happened?'

            As he got up, he saw a large crowd gathered around someone on the solid ground. It seemed as if that person was under something big and heavy. The thing was clearer and seemed as if it was a cable swing from the swing twister. He turned towards the swing twister and saw that it had crashed and its cable swings were all crashed on the ground. It seemed as if the gadget that spun the swing twister sort of malfunctioned and broke, sending those who rode it either flying away to a far direction or crashing to the ground. It was horrible as the people crowded over the swing twister to see the mangled bodies trapped under the bulk of the swing twister.

            Arnold grimaced and turned back to the crowd which was nearer to him. He saw Eugene and Phoebe coming up to him with horrified expressions on their faces.

            "Hey, you guys OK?" 

            "Yes, but Helga…" Phoebe was close to tears as the memory of being pushed away to safety by her best friend came into her tiny mind.

            Arnold's heart almost missed a beat. What happened to Helga? Is she…? Don't tell me she is…Arnold quickly pushed his way through the crowd to see who they were looking at. He prayed hard in his heart that his suspicions were not true, but things don't usually turn out the way we wanted it to be, especially when you're hoping that nothing bad happens. As Arnold found himself standing somewhere in the middle of the crowd, his legs almost turned into jelly at what he just saw.

            There, before his eyes, was Helga lying there motionless on the ground, the heavy, bulky cable swing crushed onto her thin, frail body. She was lying on her stomach and the whole cable was on her back, seemingly have crushed her spine into pieces. She was lying on a pool of her own blood, bleeding badly not only at both her mouth and nose but on the rest of her body. Arnold let out a strangled yell and ran towards the cable swing that threatened to claim her life. He pulled and pushed and tugged at the cable swing, but it was too heavy for him.

            "Please! Please, somebody! Help me! Help her! Someone please help her!! PLEASE!!!" Arnold begged while he still tried to move the cable swing off the slipping Helga. Phoebe and Eugene also pushed their way through the crowd and tried to help Arnold with the cable swing, but in vain—the damn thing wouldn't budge. Everyone stood there, dazed and confused, not knowing what to do and not sure whether they were capable of moving the swing.

            "Arnold! Arnold, are you al…" Gerald's call stopped abruptly when he saw what Arnold was trying to do. The other kids were practically horrified at the sight. Lila almost fainted at the sight of blood. Arnold turned to Gerald and the others, his eyes seemed quite welled-up.

            "Gerald! Sid! Harold! Stinky! Everybody, quick! Help me move this cable swing! It's killing her!"

            "I don't think she would even survive…" Stinky's comment was cut short by a jab on the ribs by Rhonda. They all ran over to help Arnold try and move the cable swing. It budged a little but that was all. The combined strength of little children was still not enough to move a metal 2-tonne cable swing. Everyone has the mind to just give up trying but Arnold was still persistent. He had to get that thing off Helga. He had to keep trying. He had to.

            For Helga.

            "Step aside everyone! Step aside please! Truck comin' thru'!"

            When Arnold thought that he was never going to get Helga out of the jam, he was struck back to reality by a familiar voice. He looked up to see his Grandpa Phil trying to move away the crowd to make way for a huge truck bearing the sign 'Big Bob'. Who else was driving the truck than Helga's dad, Bob Pataki. There were other trucks too but they were heading towards the crashed swing twister site to help the other victims.

            "Oh my stars! What happened to your girlfriend, shortman?" Grandpa Phil exclaimed when he saw Helga under the cable swing, but before Arnold could snap at him, Bob honked his truck at him.

            "Get outta the way, you old shriveled pickle! I'm trying to save my daughter here! Go put that hook on the cable swing or something!" 

            Grandpa Phil did as he was told. The other kids tried to make way and usher the other people away so that Bob will have room to reverse his truck and lift the darn cable swing. Slowly, inch by inch, the bulky cable swing was lifted off Helga and was dropped somewhere else nearby. Of course, Bob had to make sure that no else was standing there or he would cause another crushing accident. He quickly got off the truck and rushed to Helga, who was still not moving at all. He wanted to pick Helga up but Grandpa Phil stopped him.

            "Are you out of yer bloomin' mind, Bob? If you touch her, you're gonna make her broken body even more broken!"

            "Then what do you suggest we do, _Phil_?! It's my daughter here!" Bob yelled, for once feeling worried and anxious about what might happen to Helga, considering he had never really cared much about her since goodness-knows-when.

            "We wait for the ambulance, of course! Just don't touch her!" 

            5 minutes later, the ambulance came. At least someone was sensible enough to stop staring at Arnold and the gang trying to move the swing and rush to call the ambulance. Arnold moved towards his grandpa and held him tight, fearing the worse. He didn't know what to do: just keep watching at whatever might happen till the end or break down and cry right there, right now. One of the paramedics took Helga's hand carefully and checked her pulse. At first they weren't sure she ever survived the crushing weight of the swing, but then the one who checked her pulse widened his eyes and exclaimed, "She's still breathing! She still has a pulse! Get her into the van right now! Careful, don't break her bones!"

            Arnold's heavy heart lifted as soon as he heard the word. 'Helga is alive?' he thought. 'She's still alive?! I can't believe it, she's still alive! Thank God!'

            Carefully, the paramedics put Helga onto a stretcher and carried her into the ambulance van. Bob jumped into the van, stated that he was family (that's 'rich'-_-). Everyone wanted to follow but the ambulance only allowed family, so Arnold and his gang took a ride on Grandpa Phil's packer.

                                                                        *

            Arnold sat outside the ER with the others, waiting anxiously for everything to be over. Arnold clasped his hands together tight and wished that Helga would be alright. He had never felt so worried before for Helga. Sure, he does have a little crush on her ever since that kiss she gave him during the last scene of the 'Romeo & Juliet' school play. He didn't know why Helga kissed him that long—it still remains a mystery—but he knew one thing: ever since that kiss he was beginning to actually _like_ Helga. All of her terrible attitudes were, although still annoying, easily dismissed. He found himself having her in his dreams and in his mind often, unless someone is able to distract him. He told not a soul, for fear he'll be despised by his gang.

            It was really taking quite a long time. He was getting really nervous. If he doesn't find something to calm him down, he'd probably start going frantic and might actually pound the ER door and reveal his secret. He got up abruptly and managed to mutter the word 'bathroom' before rushing into one.

            In the bathroom, he continuously rinsed his face with cold water. He stared at himself in the mirror. He noticed that Helga was pretty much right about his head—it really looked like a football for a minute there. It was no wonder Helga constantly called him 'football head freak'. He used to hate her calling him that, but now he missed every second of it. If Helga couldn't pull through, he was going to miss it forever. He suddenly fell onto his knees and broke down into tears.

            "Oh, please. Don't let Helga leave me. Please don't take her away. There is no way I can ever live without her anymore. I may have hated her in the past, despised her and hated her guts, but that's the past now. I don't hate her anymore. I _can't_ hate her anymore. The more I tried to hate her for her horrible attitude, the more I find myself drowning in her love. Please, God, don't take her away from me. Please, I beg of you, please don't take her away. I beg of you, please…"

            "Arnold? Arnold, are you OK?"

            Arnold stood up quickly and spun round to see Gerald standing at the door of the bathroom. Gerald was looking at him with questioning eyes and Arnold quickly turned around again with his back towards Gerald. He didn't want him to see his red sodden eyes and flushed cheeks.

            "Are you feeling alright, Arnold?"

            "Yes…I'm fine," Arnold replied hesitantly. "Any…Any news from the ER?"

            "I was just about to tell you, Arnold. Helga survived. She made it through. She came back from the land of the dead and she's in the ICU right now."

            Without another minute wasted, Arnold and Gerald quickly ran towards where Helga's ward is.

A/N: Great! Helga made it through! Hurray! ^_^ Reviews plz!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Now let's see the finale of this fic. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Nickelodeon owns Hey Arnold. Not me.

                                                            CONFESSION 

            The beeping of the heartbeat machine was moving steadily and her breathing was pretty much regular. Helga was sleeping peacefully with her breathing mask on. She was, for the first time, not tying her hair in two pony-tails, but was spread decoratively all over the white linen pillow. She was wearing a hospital gown of blue, something Arnold had never seen her wear before. Her closed eyelids covered her blue eyes as she slept peacefully throughout the hours.

            The doctors told them that besides a few broken bones on her arms and legs, she also had a serious fracture on her back caused by the cable swing. She will need a really, really long time to heal and rehabilitate herself to walk and coordinate herself again, although a fractured spine seldom has any chance to heal. What's worse was that after the surgery, although she lived through it, she had slipped into a coma. No doctors were sure when she was going to wake up. So even if there was a chance to cure all the broken bones on her body, a long time lying on bed without any activity would deteriorate the muscles and bones so bad, recovery is almost impossible.

            Arnold was sitting beside Helga's bed, staring at her sleeping body supported by the breathing gadgets and tubes stuck on both her wrists. Arnold took her hand and stared at Helga. Time seemed to stand still between them. It was like this moment would never go wrong, as long as Helga didn't know that he was there so that she wouldn't shoot showers of insults on him, although he hoped she would. At a point, he wanted Helga to wake up, to see him in front of her and know that he loved her for so long.

            "Helga, I know you can hear me but you just can't wake up right now," Arnold whispered as he laid his head on the bed. "But I just want you to know that…I'm grateful for you trying to save me and I thank you for that. You were really brave, you know that? That's what I love about you: you often just bustle in and do what you think is right for you. You don't care about what other people think. You are just…so…brave. And to think they thought you're just a…"

            As Arnold continued to chit-chat with Helga, the rest of the gang who were hiding behind the ward door were totally speechless at what they heard.

            "Did you just hear what I heard?" Gerald tried very, very hard to suppress his excited voice.

            "Yeah! I mean, I just can't believe that Arnold is actually…" Stinky cringed, unable to continue.

            "He's gotta be crazy to like Helga! I mean she is such a total jerk!" Harold was in fits of denial.

            "Helga is not a jerk, at least not very!" Phoebe protested. "She just saved us from being crushed into a pulp!"

            "Yeah, but…no offence, Phoebe, but I just can't get over the fact that Arnold is actually having a crush on P.S.118's biggest bully in the school history!"

            "So what? Helga had a crush on Arnold longer than…" Phoebe was so bent on defending her best friend that she accidentally revealed Helga's life long secret. She cupped her mouth in horror at what she had done.

            "What?! Helga too?!" Everyone was so surprised at what they heard coming out of Phoebe's mouth that they almost forgot to lower down their voices.

            "Well, I mean she does have a little crush on Arnold…and…I gotta go…" Phoebe backed away slowly before quickly dashing away from the ward, prompting the very, very curious number of Arnold's classmates taking to their heels and chasing Phoebe, demanding an explanation.

            Whether Arnold had heard them or not, the noise didn't seem to mind him at all.  

            He only wanted Helga.

                                                                        *

            "You have to go home, shortman. Your Grandma misses you."

            "I don't really think so."

            It had been two month since the incident happened in the funfair. The funfair was declared closed due to that accident and was forced to move out of the neighbourhood by people who had lost their children in the swing twister crash. Ever since Helga has been hospitalized, Arnold went to her ward everyday to visit her, not wanting to miss a second of her, for fear that he wasn't there if she ever wakes up. Most of the people in P.S.118 knew about his crush with hlega and vice versa, but he didn't want to care. He only had his mind on Helga. He would stay at the ward until late in the evening and sometimes way till the night when the nurse had to remind him over and over again that visiting hours are over. He would go home reluctant, his footsteps echoing down the lonely road and Grandpa Phil would always be at the dining room with his cold dinner (sometimes supper if Arnold was able to persuade the nurse to let him stay until about 11.30 at night).

           Finally, he couldn't stand a single minute without seeing Helga. He had made the hospital his second home. Everyday, after school, he would dash to the bus stop to catch the earliest bus to the hospital downtown (where Helga was) and stayed with Helga in the ward until visiting hours were over. He would hide either at the toilet or in the janitor's room or even the boiler room until the lights were almost out. Then he would creep back into Helga's ward and sat beside her, continuing to whisper words to her about his day at school and when he got tired, he would either sleep in a sitting position with his head propped on the bed or sleep under Helga's bed until the next morning. He will then sneak out before he was discovered and caught the morning bus to go to school.

            He never ever wanted to go back to the boarding house anymore. He was content just sitting there beside Helga and talk to her with yearning for her to wake up. No matter how much Grandpa Phil or his best friend Gerald or his other classmates begged and coaxed, he wouldn't budge. Only once in a while, he went home to ask for some money so that he could buy food from the vending machine or the shop outside the hospital. He couldn't just live off outside food forever, so Grandma Gertrude made some homemade food for him and Grandpa Phil would take it to the hospital for Arnold to eat. Still he wouldn't leave. He wanted to be by Helga's side and have the first-hand to see Helga wake up.

            "You really, really have to come home, shortman. Look at you. You're becoming paler by the minute. You have to come home and have some proper rest." Grandpa Phil was really beginning to worry.

            "I'm fine, Grandpa. Just fine," Arnold replied absentmindedly, being at the state of denial he was. 

            "Your Grandma would kill me for this."

            "Just don't tell her then."

            Grandpa sighed and left the basket of food as usual for Arnold to eat. Another day, another fruitless attempt to persuade his grandson to come home. If his son and daughter-in-law were around, they would surely blame him for not taking good care of their child.

            "Grandpa?" Arnold's voice suddenly came out of the blue.

            "Yes, Arnold?" Grandpa spun round, feeling hopeful.

            "From now on…don't send me meals anymore. I can feed myself. Tell Grandma that." Arnold was staring straight at Helga while he was saying that. Grandpa Phil was shocked for a moment, but seeing Arnold's face exceptionally serious and solemn, he didn't dare to protest any longer. He just nodded and left without a word.

            Arnold didn't even attempt to say goodbye.

                                                                        *

            Arnold staggered down to the vending machine. He hadn't eaten properly for a few days now. His money was almost running out and he resolved to only drinking (not beer, mind you!) either coffee or hot chocolate or anything drinkable from the vending machine. He forced himself not to take so many trips to the vending machine as he didn't want to attract attention from the nurses, and he didn't want to go running home asking for money because he didn't want Grandma Gertrude to worry about him and fuss over him like he was a 5-year-old. More importantly, he didn't want to miss Helga's awakening.

            "I still have…5 50 cent coins…I can get me a hot chocolate or something…" Arnold muttered to himself, not sure whether he was talking right. He went closer to the vending machine and, with trembling hands, slipped in a 50 cent coin for a $1.50 worth of a cup of hot chocolate. He was about to slip in the second 50 cent coin when he saw a couple of nurses walking side by side with a doctor, looking quite anxious and busy.

            "What was her condition?"

            "I'm not sure, doctor. She suddenly fluttered her eyes and her heartbeat had increased quite abruptly. It's a miracle. She wasn't in a condition to at least wake up in such short hour…"

            "Yes. You did say her chances of waking up would be like about 40%, wasn't it, doc?"

            "Well, I was wrong. The Lord sure works in mysterious ways. Come on, girls. We have to attend Miss Pataki before we lose her again!"

            Pataki? Helga Pataki? _His _Helga Pataki? Were they talking about her? Helga has finally awakened! She has finally awakened! How could he ever walk out of the ward just to get some stupid drink and not stay put in the ward to see her awake? How stupid could he get? Now he couldn't see her wake up first hand! He completely forgotten about the vending machine and was about to take to his heels and run to her ward when all of a sudden, he felt weak all over. his lack of food intake was wearing his body down—he wasn't getting much nutrition like he was supposed to. His legs turned to jelly and he found himself collapsing onto the floor—hard. Still, he forced himself to at least get up and crawl. His body was wearing down even more, and when one of the attendants noticed him and tried to help him, he shrugged him off, determined to get to the ward himself. He had to see Helga. He can't fall now! He had to see Helga! He had to…

            Helga's blue eyes were the last thing on his mind…

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~              

            Arnold saw himself standing in the midst of thick mists. He didn't know where he was or how he got there, but he knew that he was supposed to find Helga.

            "Helga?! Helga~!!! Helga, where are you?!"

            "Right here, Arnold! I'm right here!"

            Arnold moved towards her voice, both of them calling at each other so that they knew where they were going in these thick mists. He couldn't see much, but he could make out an outline of a girl with two pony tails and a large ribbon. He held out his hands and could feel hers as their fingers intertwine with each other.

            "Helga, I'm so glad you're alright!" Arnold sighed in relief, grabbing her by the wrist and hugged her close to his chest.

            "I'm so glad I've found you, Arnold!" Helga sighed too as she hugged him back.

            "I've been wanting to tell you this for a long time, Helga, but I never found the courage to do it…Helga…I…I love you! I loved you since the day you gave me that kiss during the play! I found myself unable to hate you, unable to despise you, even unable to live without you anymore! Helga, please don't leave me again! I can't stand the idea of letting you out of my sight!"

            "I'm afraid I can't promise you that, Arnold," Helga suddenly loosened her hug and replied with a sad tone in her voice.

            "What…What do you mean? Why can't you?" Arnold asked in surprise.

            "Because…" Before Helga could answer, she was gone. Disappeared into thin air. Arnold suddenly was unable to feel Helga in his arms again. He felt so empty, so lost, and so lonely in the middle of the thickening mists. The silence was suffocating. It was so silent that not only you could hear a sewing pin drop, but even a grain of sand. He fell onto his knees with tears trickled down his cheek. He tried to suppress it, but he just couldn't shake off the depressing, ultimately devastating feeling inside him. Was he forever to endure Helga's absence? Was he forever going to lose sight of her? He finally drew in a long breath and wailed in agony.

                                    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            "HELGA~!!!! HELGA, DON'T LEAVE ME, HELGA~~!!!!"

            "I'm here, you football head! Stop yelling! I'm here!"

            Arnold's tears and Helga's voice shook him awake. Arnold opened his eyes to see Helga staring back at him with…worried eyes? He sat abruptly, taking Helga by surprise. He laid his hands tentatively on her cheeks and touched her to see if she was really there. She let him do that for a few seconds or so before pushing his arms away irritably and grumbled, "Hey, football head! Are you trying to give me a facial or something?"

            Arnold looked at the rest of her from head to toe. She was sitting on a wheelchair with a number of pillows supporting her weak back. The tubes and the breathing mask were gone, but she was still in her hospital gown and her hair was still loose, resting gently on her shoulders. Her arms and legs were in casts and didn't look too pretty, but she still looked appealing to him all the same. That was when he realized he was dressed in a hospital gown. 

            "How long have I been asleep?" Arnold asked, rubbing the sleep off his eyes.

            "For almost five days," Helga replied scornfully. "For a minute there, I thought I might have transmitted my coma viruses to you! The docs said you haven't been eating for days now, and they started sticking those tube things on you to feed with. Your grandparents were here yesterday."

            "Oh…" Arnold replied, looking down, suddenly very interested in his knees.

            "I also heard loads of stories from your grandpa, about not going home and all…"

            Arnold looked up, quite shocked to be found out by someone he didn't dare to let know of.

            "And also…when you're asleep…I've heard you talk in your dreams…"

            Now he felt really embarrassed. He muttered, "You'd think I'm a real idiot, wouldn't you?"

            Helga moved her wheelchair closer to him and said, "You don't have to do this for me, you know. If…If you…like me so much, you don't have to…spend your days 24/7 in this ward just to see me wake up. You have a home and yet you don't go home! Sometimes you're just down right stupid!"

            "I know, but…" Arnold had to gather more courage to blurt it all out. "If I don't do this, I won't get first hand in seeing you waking up. I…I want to be the first person you'll see when you come out of your coma…so that…"

            "So that you can make me barf at first sight?"

            "No! So that…you'll know that I'm doing this because…I love you." There. He said it. You should see his face—as red as a tomato.

            There was a long silence between them before Helga finally took a deep breath and muttered enough for him to hear, "I, uh, I also…have…a crush on you. Ever since pre-school. I was told that…if I were ever to treat you like I can't stand the sight of you, you would understand that I…I love you too. I could never tell anyone. It'll ruin me. It'll ruin my reputation, my pride, my…"

            Arnold stopped her raving by laying a finger on her lips. He took her chin gently and placed his lips on hers, kissing her like she did him during the 'Romeo & Juliet' play. He fondle his tongue on hers, guiding her as he kissed her more deeply, tasting every inch of her mouth inside. It felt so tantalizing to the taste. He wanted to savour more of her flavourous lips but Helga tore him away within seconds, her face flushed and looking breathless.

            "I just want to know if you like me. That's all I need to know," Arnold whispered as he caressed her cheek gently. Helga would've flung her arms around him if they weren't broken. Arnold noticed and wrapped his arms around her instead. She couldn't hold herself any longer—she burst into tears and let out muffled wails on his hospital gown, wetting it. Arnold didn't mind. He held her even closer and stroked her soft blonde hair. He kissed her forehead and rocked her body to and fro, whispering sweet nothings until her wails slowed down to silent sobs.

            Things were definitely going to work just fine for them in the days to come.

A/N: Whew! Finally finished, and WAHOO! For they have finally got together. The rest was pretty much predictable: Arnold helps Helga with her healing and stuff…*^_^* Well, hope you enjoyed it! Reviews plz! 


End file.
